IT has been a busy start to 2024 for the Malvern Joggers.

On Monday, the club welcomed ultrarunning legend Nicky Spinks to a sell-out talk at Malvern Rugby Club.

One hundred people heard about Nicky's experiences of running long, gruelling trail races like the 268-mile Montane Winter Spine race that had taken place the previous week in harsh conditions across northern England.

Spinks finished joint fourth, but the eyes of Malvern Joggers were on their very own Vicky Savage, who finished just behind Nicky, in sixth place with a time of 117 hours and 26 minutes - a fantastic achievement made in a large part on the Malvern Hills.

Malvern Joggers are also helping people to get into running with the launch of a new nine-week 'Couch to 5k' programme on 7 February. Weekly runs will help new runners or people wanting to start again to build up their mileage and confidence to run a five-kilometre Parkrun in April.

Anyone interested in joining can sign up at malvernjoggers.co.uk/events, with Malvern Joggers promising a friendly welcome.

Elsewhere, Joggers are continuing to put in the miles in preparation for Spring events, including half-marathons in Warwick and Stratford, and marathons in London, Manchester, and for two members, Tokyo.

Meanwhile, a full programme of cross-country and 'Champions League' events continues, including a 'takeover' of the organisation of the Worcester Woods Parkrun on 3 February.

Off the roads and trails, Malvern Joggers members selected Malvern Link Dementia Meeting Centre as the club charity for 2024.

The Centre is a local resource offering support to people with mild to moderate dementia and their families. In 2023, the club raised £3,405 for The Cart Shed, which works with adults and young people experiencing mental health difficulties.